Team Tank
by PurtFiend
Summary: Day One of Kurtofsky Fest 2014 Prompt - Put Kurt and Dave in place of characters from one of your other fandoms. Rated M for a little bit of sex. I like Tank he's a great character and I think he would be great for Kurt.


I started watching Switched at Birth when I heard Max was playing the reoccurring character Tank. I quite like Tank and hate that he is sometimes treated like a buffoon. Anyways, I started to wonder what might happen if Kurt and Tank crossed paths. Then this prompt was suggested for Kurtofsky Fest. I had to run with it. _(slight Blaine bashing and some sex) I'd rate this story M._

**Team Tank**

I am sitting on the couch in the apartment - (I should try and think of this place as my home, I've been here since the beginning of the semester). I am sitting on the couch in my living room in my HOME, thinking again about what brought me here to this moment. The more I ponder my relationship with Blaine, the more I feel like a failure. We were supposed to be the perfect couple. We were engaged to be married. We were going to be forever. Now look at me, I'm living on the other side of the country, away from NYADA, my friends, and family; a lonely singleton.

How did my future get fucked up so bad? Why did Blaine have to cheat again? If he loved me so much and wanted to marry me so bad than why, why did he do it? Did he expect me to forgive him? Did he expect me to take that bullshit about it just happening and that my behavior was the reason? The first time he wandered, it was my fault because I was too "remote"; this time his dalliance was because I was too "clingy".

I can feel the anger rise up in me again as I go over the same tired sequences of events that led to this moment in time. Me catching Blaine with that man; the sense of betrayal, the hopelessness and grief, his frantic attempts to win me back, our tearful, angry words, friends taking sides and my ultimate split with him and with them.

Our epic ending was a death knell to our group. We were just too close a circle of friends to endure such an emotional storm. Yet we still lived together or went to school together and the constant abrasion of rubbing together became too much. Just when I thought I couldn't bare anymore, my teacher and mentor Carmen Tibideaux suggested this school. This campus has a robust theatrical programme and since the two courses were affiliated, I was allowed to transfer across the country to my new college without losing credits.

So here I am, sitting on this couch, feeling like a failure. I am hungry but not at all inspired to cook myself anything. I can feel my mood slipping into sadness and despair again but I am powerless to stop it. Blaine and I were so happy. Why couldn't he just keep it in his pants? Why did he ruin both our lives? If the affair meant nothing, then why did he have to do it? WHY!?

I am roused out of my downward spiraling thoughts by the jangle of keys outside the apartment. The door finally opens and one of my roommates steps in.

"Hey Kurt! How's it going?" The big man asks breezily with a huge smile that lights up his face.

"Hey Tank," I answer breaking into a big grin. "How was practise?"

"Man! I thought I was gonna die! Coach was really pushing us hard today! He is desperate for us to win the game this Saturday. We're meeting his former school team; the job he was fired from, and he wants to show them what a big mistake they made letting him go." Tank sinks against the wall, breathes deeply, and then pulls a disgusted face. He then sniffs under his own armpit. "Whew! Is that me? I stink! I'm gonna have a shower!"

I laugh, "You smell just like you should smell after good work out."

Tank smiles again and moves down the hall. He suddenly pauses and looks back at me. "Are you okay Kurt? Why are you just sitting in the living room staring at the wall? Are you thinking about him?"

I hear the sincere concern in his voice, and I smile up at him.

"No, I was just sitting here contemplating what I'm going to have for dinner." He doesn't look convinced so I continue in a light tone. "I've still got some homemade pesto kicking around in the fridge, enough for two. I could cook up some pasta for us both?" That gets him off the topic of Blaine pretty quick; he looks at me eagerly.

"I love your Pesto! Are you sure you want to feed me? Do you have enough? You know I've got a bottomless pit for a stomach." Tank replies rubbing his belly ruefully.

"I'm sure there will be plenty. I also have two very ripe mangos that need eating, so I'll make us both smoothies for a drink. I love feeding you. It's great to have a good friend that appreciates my cooking as much as you do. Besides, that pesto sauce will get stale if we don't eat it up." I tell him as I move to the kitchenette to start pulling ingredients from the fridge and cupboards.

"What about Kelly? She appreciates your cooking just as much as I do. There won't be enough. I don't want her to be disappointed." Tank asks still worried.

I can't help but smile again. It's just like Tank to be so considerate of our other roommate. "Don't worry. I'll make some more later. Kelly's with her girlfriend. They've gone out for dinner."

"Well, if you're sure."

"I'm absolutely, positively sure."

Tank smiles shyly, then claps his hands and rubs them together. "Well alright then! You spoil me something rotten Kurt. I'll go have my shower while you get dinner ready. I'll do the dishes when we're done."

I put the water on to boil for the pasta and decide to make a large salad for us as well. I stop for a second and realise that I am humming a happy tune. I only need to be in Tank's company for a few moments and his exuberance for life rubs off on me. He always lifts my spirits no matter how low they are. He is such a honey.

I think back to when we first met. It was during interviews that Kelly and I were having while looking for a new roommate. At the beginning of the semester when I moved here from New York, depressed and dejected, one of the few bright spots in my new reality was my good fortune at finding good, cheap living accommodations with two girls that I had an instant affinity for. Kelly was a sassy, fun, no-nonsense femme dyke. She reminded me a lot of Santana. She was a tell-it-like-it-is straight shooter, minus the nasty streak. Sandy, on the other hand was a bookish, nerdy straight girl with a wicked sense of humour. She cracked me up at least daily with some of her observations of professors and other students. We were a triumvirate; a team. We knew without a doubt that the ties we were making would last our whole lives.

Then one evening, Sandy's whole world collapsed with a phone call. Her step father phoned to tell her that her mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer. The next morning, Sandy tearfully said goodbye to us, quit school and moved back home to support her mother in fighting the disease by taking care of her two siblings; a young half brother and sister.

As she left, she apologised over and over about leaving us in such a predicament, having to find another roommate so late in a semester. Of course we told her not to worry, that we would be fine; what else could we say? Our triumvirate was no more and Kelly and I would have to find another person that we both could live with.

Trying to find a roommate after everyone was settled in their accommodations around campus was daunting task. Basically, if someone was looking for a room this late in the semester, meant something had already gone wrong with their previous living places and they had most likely been thrown out. Finding someone easy-going that could fit in with our strong personalities would be tough. The good news was, once we put the ad up for a new room, we were flooded with dozens of calls. The bad news was, the callers usually fell into three categories, crazy people, angry misfits and the socially inept. A few of them fell into all three categories. Out of the dozens of phone interviews, we whittled them down to five prospects who sounded acceptable enough to interview in person. Of those five, two candidates didn't bother to show up for the interview.

Of the three prospects that did show up, Tank was last one and I hated him at first sight. I took one look at him and dismissed him as a dumb jock. He not only reminded me of a typical jock bully, but of one in particular that I had to deal with all through high school and I decided I wasn't about to live with him.

"Well I guess it's a no brainer what we should do." Kelly announced after we interviewed the three candidates. I knew without a doubt she wanted Tank for a roommate. They had a mutual friend Mary Beth in common, who had highly recommended Tank as a good person. He was the whistle-blower in a 'dogfight' scandal at Omega Psi, his Fraternity. Apparently a 'dogfight' is a party where the frat boys invite ugly 'dates' to and the guys secretly compete to see who can bring the ugliest girl. Typical Neanderthal behaviour of frat boys! I certainly couldn't see how this Tank fellow deserved any kudos for doing the decent thing and exposing such puerile behavior. So what if he had to weather the wrath of his frat brothers. Kelly also was impressed that he de-pledged himself because he disapproved of the explicit porn and poor hygiene standards at the frat house. By the end of the interview with Tank, she was giggling and gushing over him like a het school girl. I was not impressed with him. Seriously, who on earth would want to be called Tank? What a stereotypical nick name for a jock. He certainly was built like a Tank and I assume he moved through other players on the like a tank. He would most likely push us around and run over us like a tank.

He tried to beguile me by enthusing excitedly over my beautiful voice. Apparently he was in the audience at our first student review. Tank told me my rendition of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' had brought him to tears it was so beautiful. I wasn't buying it. I was sure he was just flattering me to get the room we offered.

"Yes, it's pretty obvious; put another ad in the paper and try again!" I answered deliberately misunderstanding Kelly's intent.

"What are you talking about?! I'm not going through that process again! We had almost fifty inquiries that ended with only three people coming to see the place and out of those three, only one was acceptable."

"Come on! None were acceptable! Let's reschedule with the two that didn't show maybe one of them will fit in with us." I suggested desperately

"No way! They most likely found another place. Besides, those two no-shows couldn't even bother to contact us to say they couldn't make it. They're either rude or lazy or both. I'm not giving them another chance." Kelly stated categorically.

"Well let's talk about the three we did see to give them all a fair chance. The nerdy photographer guy was nice; a bit of a goof, but charming in a socially awkward sort of way." I started.

"He had scabies! He sat there scratching the whole time through the interview. When he showed us his photographic assignment he was working on, they were stills of his scabies medication! Who would be that socially unaware to use such personal, embarrassing medication in a school assignment? It's just idiotic."

"Well at least we know he's taking something for his infestation." I argued.

"Kurt! You know damn well how infectious Scabies are. Why else did you instantly gather up the throw we had on the couch and stuff it in a garbage bag and run down to the laundry room to wash it?" Kelly asked knowingly.

"Okay, okay, forget him. What about the Goth girl? She had a sense of drama and intrigue about her. She was a tad on the serious side but we might be able to lighten her up." I said trying again.

"Goth girl!? She was no Goth girl! She is a practising Satanist who wants to draw a pentacle on our living room floor the next coming Friday the 13th and preform a ceremony to invite the Dark One onto our temporal plane. Sorry, but no way in hell, (if you'll pardon the pun), do I want that girl as a roommate."

Kelly paused and studied me for a moment. "It's obvious that you didn't like Tank at all. All through the interview you sat there displeased, looking like you had a pole your butt and had just eaten a bucket of lemons. I just would like to know why."

"Oh please! Isn't the fact that he is an ex-frat boy and jock enough?" I railed. "He'll bring his frat boy bad habits here and make it impossible to study. He'll most likely throw around his entitled jock attitude and try bully us into doing what he says. You of all people know what jocks are like. Look how you suffered at their hands in high school. You were almost raped when you came out as a lesbian because they wanted to 'cure you'. If that teacher hadn't walked in when she did..."

"Don't you dare bring that up for this situation! Tank is nothing like those guys. If you had looked at him with an open heart, you would have seen how nice he is. If anything, he has all of the nice qualities of being an athlete and none of the bad ones. He's not a jock by my definition and he's not that jock that bullied you Kurt." she implored.

"He looks exactly like the jock that bullied me!" I answered heatedly. I even surprised myself at my angry outburst. I hated that period in my life when everything seemed to go to hell. It was all jumbled together like a horrible nightmare. It started with my father almost dying, and then continued with unrelenting torment and the unwanted kiss by a closeted bully, and because of him - ultimately leaving my school and meeting Blaine...

"I don't trust him. He wants us to like him so we'll let him into our home. I don't believe him when he says that us being queer isn't an issue. How convenient that he has a lesbian aunt on his mother's side and identical gay twins on his dad's side. He could be making that shit up!"

"Kurt, why would he make it up? Why would he want to fake tolerance when that would mean living with us the way we are? He said that he has another place to look at this evening, but he really liked us and our home and would be happy here if we chose him. He'll probably take that other place if we don't call him quickly." Kelly pleaded.

"What about chores? I didn't like that he was dictating to us what he would do and when he was going to do them." I huffed.

"Come on Kurt! Did you actually listen to what he said? He said that he was happy and willing to do any jobs or chores around the apartment accept for preparing meals because he was totally useless at cooking and didn't want to be responsible for poisoning us. He was joking when he said that, so no using that as an excuse. He also said that he would do any chores any day, except Wednesday. He said it was because he had practise all day and had courses in the evening and he'd be home too late and would be too exhausted to do anything accept crash in his bed. The other applicants didn't even talk about doing chores. I thought it was very responsible and considerate of him to let us know when and how he could help out." She looked at me intently and then announced. "I like him a lot. He found him very sweet and authentic."

I sighed. Kelly only used the word "authentic" for something or someone that she wanted to highly praise. It was obvious that I was not going to move her because she was already on team Tank. So I reluctantly gave in. "Oh alright, but he is on probation for a month. If he so much as looks at me funny or gives me any grief what so ever, he's gone!" Kelly squealed and grabbed her bag to root out her phone.

"...Whoa-oaho-haaaa-ho-ho! Don't step on my blue suede shoess!..."

I'm pulled out of my reverie and I giggle as I hear the slightly off-key baritone singing coming from the bathroom. Tank is channelling Elvis again. Whenever he takes a shower, he sings songs at the top of his lungs. When he first moved in and took his first shower the next morning, I almost fell out of bed I was so surprised. My bedroom is right by the bathroom and his voice was so loud I thought at first that he was in the room with me singing in my ear. I was annoyed as hell. Kelly and I called an impromptu meeting as soon as he was out of the shower and dressed. I told him then and there, no singing was allowed while showering or he'd have to leave. Kelly stuck up for him, claiming he wasn't half bad as a singer; he just needed to tone it down a bit. Tank apologised profusely and promised to try and stop the shower singing.

The next morning, when he showered, he started singing and woke us up again, (he was always the first one up because he liked to run in the morning before classes).

"Hey sorry guys! I'll shut up. I don't even know I'm doing it." Tank yelled once I started banging on the wall, yelling at him to stop. He stayed quiet for about five minutes but started wailing out tunes again.

"Sorry guys sorry! I'll try and stop, it's just a bad habit I picked up!" he shouted as I banged on the wall again. In the end, even though he earnestly tried, he just couldn't curb his natural enthusiasm of singing in the shower. I kept bugging Kelly that his singing was a deal breaker for me. She wanted to wait until the end of the month in case I changed my mind.

Then one evening when I was skyping my dad and Carol, Tank had come home from practise. He must have jumped in the shower because right in the middle of my chat with my parents, Tank started his serenade; he was on a Boublé kick at the time. Dad looked confused and then started to smile and chuckle. "What the hell is that? Is one or your roommates beating a walrus to death?" I rolled my eyes. "No that is the new dumb jock roommate I was telling you about. His singing drives me nuts! He sings whenever he's in the shower."

Carol, who had been smiling, suddenly looked serious. "I think it's really sweet. Remember how Finn used to love to let loose in the shower? He didn't care how loud he was or if he hit the notes just right. He did it because he loved singing and loved life. It's one of the things I miss the most now that he's gone."

I had forgotten that Finn loved to sing in the shower. I suddenly realised that in many ways Tank was very similar to my brother. He had the same unassuming sweet demeanour, goofy zest for life, and a sort of clueless savvy that cut to the heart of what is important. This realisation led me to look at Tank with fresh eyes.

I started to notice that Tank was actually a very thoughtful and considerate roommate. Even though I had to acknowledge he wasn't so bad, I wasn't about to be his friend like he so obviously wanted. He reminded me of an over eager puppy, desperately wanting my approval. I dropped the singing in the shower issue with Kelly but I still wasn't comfortable with living with Tank.

Another thing that bugged me about when he first moved in, was that he fell in so easily with Kelly and her friends. The very first week, Kelly invited Tank to our Friday board game night. I was looking forward it, just to see how Dace, Kelly's girlfriend, would react to the masculine ex-frat boy. Also I couldn't wait to see Tank's reaction to Dace and her very butch attitude. Dace didn't disappoint, she swaggered in wearing camouflage patterned long shorts and a tank top that said 'I'm queer and fabulous so fuck you!' She was a tall Slavic girl with impressive muscles, a shaved head and a square jaw. She was always being mistaken for a male. I hovered close by while Kelly introduced them. Dace squared off in front of Tank, like a gladiator ready for a fight; looking him dead in the eye, just waiting for some jokey comment. I grinned. I was as eager as an eight year old waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Tank held out his hand and shook Dace's offered one vigorously. "Hi Dace, it's a pleasure to meet you." he gushed, "I try and watch the women's volleyball team whenever possible. You guys are amazing! And you Dace, are something else at the net! The way you spike those balls! The other team doesn't have a chance against your onslaught. You're like a volleyball terminator! I'd be shaking in my shoes if I were to face you on the opposite side of the net. I've never seen anything like it."

"Hey thanks Dude, I am surprised you watch women's sports." she answered guardedly.

"Are you kidding?" Tank enthused, "I love all sports! Who cares if they're male or female? As far as I'm concerned athletes are athletes regardless of gender. Except for maybe our men's volleyball team, I hate to be mean, but they suck big time."

Dace pealed with laughter. She was always complaining about the men's volleyball team and how pathetic they were. Tank had won her over in less than five minutes. It was as if he knew the perfect thing to say to her to get her to climb aboard Team Tank. She immediately invited him to share a couple of beers she had brought with her and they retired to the living room to discuss sports while we waited for the rest of the group.

I could only hope the rest of the group would not like him. After all they were all dykes and political ones at that. They weren't the stereotypical lesbians in male porno films. I was sure Tank was in for an uncomfortable surprise.

Instead, Tank got along famously with them. He regaled them with stories of visiting his Lesbian aunt as child and spending idyllic summers with her and her eccentric circle of friends. They were old style eighties lesbians who rode motor bikes, cussed like truckers and cared for him like a little prince. When he was very young he thought they were pirates, because most of them smoked, a lot of them wore bandanas and a few of them had missing teeth. One of them even had a parrot. It was obvious that he respected and loved them. Kelly's friends were thrilled to death with his stories and grouped around him like a harem. At the end of the evening after much laughter and teasing they made him an honorary lesbian.

An honorary lesbian! I had played board games with them practically every Friday since the beginning of the semester and they hadn't made ME an honorary lesbian. I was annoyed and felt ignored. I stood up and announced I was retiring to my room with a bad headache. The only one who acknowledged my leaving was Tank who said that he hoped that I would feel better soon.

That weekend I stayed in a foul mood and did not leave my bedroom. If I wanted something to eat, I prepared it quickly and took it back to my room. I was still angry and upset on Monday, and continued to keep to myself until Wednesday. Tank made things worse by trying to constantly appease me and make friends with me. I wasn't having it. I was annoyed at Tank usurping my friends and roommate and decided that he really had to go. When Kelly got home from classes in the afternoon I told her of my decision.

"I'm sorry Kelly, but I have come to the end of my rope with Tank. I did my best to accept him, but I can't. I want him to leave before he finishes his probationary period." I stated in a very reasonable manner.

"I'm sorry too Kurt," Kelly responded coolly, "because Tank is no longer on a probationary period - you are."

"What?!"I exclaimed.

"You heard me." Kelly continued. "The only source of tension and annoyance in this apartment is you. Tank has been great. I've enjoyed his company since he got here. He has bent over backwards trying to befriend you and you shoot him down every chance you get. You don't even have a reason for disliking him other than your superficial and prejudicial views of jocks. Frankly, I'm tired of it. You have until the end of the month to get over your issues with Tank or start looking for a new place to stay." With that she spun her heel and marched into her bedroom and slammed the door.

I was flabbergasted. I went to my room and realised what a dreadful mess I made of everything. Depression and sadness gripped me. I had ruined my relationship with Blaine and now with Kelly and Tank. I retreated still further, not leaving my room for anything other than classes, food and relieving myself. On Friday night, I didn't join in the games and nobody seemed to care. Nobody accept for Tank, who tapped on my door and pleaded with me to come out. I opened my door a crack, made sure he didn't see how depressed I was and gave some excuse for not coming out.

On Saturday, no one was home so I sat on the couch in the living room feeling sorry for myself. There was a jangle of keys and Tank walked through the door.

"Hey Kurt, is everything okay?" Tank asked.

I looked at him and saw nothing but sincere concern on his face. "Why do you care?" I asked him, genuinely curious. "I've been nasty to you from the moment I met you. So why are you concerned about how I'm feeling?"

"Because you are my roommate. We should care for each other's welfare." he stated simply.

"I haven't cared much for your welfare since you've arrived here and it looks like I'm not going to be your roommate in the future so I absolve you of any responsibility of me." I respond gloomily.

Tank walked over to where I was lounging and gingerly sat beside me on the edge of the couch. "Look I feel terrible about that. It wasn't my plan to come between you and Kelly. I honestly just wanted to fit in with you guys. I told Kelly I'm uncomfortable with her putting you on probation. I told her that I'll go look for new accommodations before the month is out."

"Tank, you are not responsible for the trouble between Kelly and me. It was all my doing. I took one look at you and decided to dismiss you as an entitled jock and obnoxious frat-boy. I continued to believe in the stereotype I put upon you, even with all the evidence proving that you are actually a nice, kind hearted person. My prejudice did me in, not you." I replied, making my first attempt at smiling at him; I'm sure it looked more like a grimace.

Tank relaxed into the couch and smiled back. He then looked at me earnestly. "Kelly told me about that bully you had in school; how I remind you of him. He sounds like real nasty bastard. No wonder you don't like me."

"Dave wasn't a bad person; he was just troubled and filled with self-loathing. But he did do some terrible things to me, and at one point, he scared me enough to change schools. He really suffered when he was outed and I wouldn't want that to happen to anybody. He was really sweet actually; especially when the hostilities between us ended. I feel bad for not keeping in touch with him. I wanted to, but I couldn't put all the history with him behind me. I guess I'm not a big enough person."

"You're too tough on yourself, Kurt. I can tell you are a very determined, strong-willed person. He must have really bullied you relentlessly to have you change schools. I'm just sorry I reminded you of all that grief." Tank remarked.

"You may have reminded me of him initially, hence my immediate hostility. But for all Dave's bullying, he didn't hurt me half as bad as my ex-fiancé Blaine. I still have unresolved anger issues with him and I used you to project my hostility. I'm very sorry; I shouldn't have used you for a punching bag."

"That's okay; would you like to talk about it?" Tank asked.

I laughed bitterly, "I'm sure you don't want to hear all the gory details of two gay men and their doomed relationship."

"Oh I don't know. You might not want to hear all the gory details about my doomed het relationship with this girl I was hot for, but I'd like to share it with you. I haven't really talked about it with anyone, and keeping it all inside is really bothering me." Tank looked at me and continued. "It might both of us let it go if we can confide in someone who empathizes."

I gave him a watery smile; I was so touched by his sincerity. "Well okay, you've asked for it."

I opened up to him about my feelings towards Blaine like I hadn't opened up to anyone, including my dad. I explained how we met, and how our friendship that turned into a romantic one. I told him about our first break up was because Blaine cheated on me and our second final one breakup was because he strayed again.

In return, he opened up to me, telling me how he had an instant attraction to Bay when he first met her, and how reluctant she was to get romantically involved. He told me how he had looked forward to going to college and in particular how he wanted to join his Omega Psi since the males in his family had been fraternity brothers for three generations and how he gave it all up to stop the arguments between Bay and him. He told me that on day he de-pledged, she had unprotected sex with her ex-boyfriend. He told how he had found out after her father blamed him for her quest for an after morning pill and criticized his behavior and lack of respect. He expressed how stupid and used he felt, particularly because he actually helped her stalk her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend that day.

I was affronted for him. "What a bitch! And I thought Blaine was bad." I groused.

"To be fair, I left the fraternity on my own accord without telling her what I was doing. It was a coincidence that she had sex with Emmett on the same evening." Tank explained.

"I don't care. She had no concern for your feelings and treated you terribly; and she still wants to be friends? Ridiculous!"

"My feelings for her were always a lot stronger than hers for me. Thinking back I should realised that when she didn't want to make love with me." Tank answered sadly. I could tell he was almost on the verge of tears which made me want to cry.

"Come here," I said tearfully opening my arms for a hug.

That's how Kelly found us when she opened the door to our apartment; on the couch, in each other's arms, balling our eyes out.

"Men are weird! And people wonder while I only date girls!" she exclaimed as she marched down the hall to her bedroom.

So in a little less than two weeks, I was well and truly on team Tank. The probation date came and went with no mention of it and the three of us settled happily into a routine. Tank and I quickly became friends and then best friends. Kelly even stated to complain about being a fifth wheel and teased us about our blooming bromance.

I hear a noise and look up from my chopping to see Tank entering the room. The handsome man in front of me takes my breath away. He had a dark maroon short sleeved shirt on that showed his very shapely and muscular arms. The dark colour looked great on him and complemented his hazel eyes. "Wow! You cleaned up nice.'" I remark once I find my voice. "Are you going to a party tonight after dinner? You are all dressed up." I ask little disappointed. Tank and I had fallen into a routine of watching old movies Saturday nights these last several weeks. I knew that sooner or later he would get over Bay and would start looking for a new girl to romance but I didn't want it to happen so soon.

"Nah! I'm not ready to party yet. I just figured that if you are putting so much effort in cooking I should least put an effort in my appearance. You do have to sit opposite me, after all."

I give Tank the once over again and say a big smile "well I appreciate it, very much!" I cough a little and quickly go back to my chopping, worrying that I came across as too flirty.

After a moment of silence, Tank asks, "I feel a bit useless standing here doing nothing. Do you want me to help with any slicing and dicing?"

"No way! You are barred from using any dangerous kitchen utensils! The last time you chopped stuff for us, you almost lost an arm!"

Tank laughed, "Oh com'on! The knife slipped and I sliced my finger. It wasn't like it went through cartilage or bone. I needed a few stitches, that's all."

"If you want to be useful, set the table, and mind you don't impale yourself with a fork. I'm not sitting in emergency with you again."

Dave moves to the cutlery draw and I finish chopping.

"My eye, my eye!" Tank yells holding the fork to his face with his fist, so it looked like the fork was protruding out of his eye socket.

"The catsup is in the fridge if you want it to look realistic, you big goof!" I snark at him, trying not to laugh.

After I serve up dinner we sit and eat and chat about our day. I try to concentrate as I listen to one of Tank's crazy stories about something that happened in class, but it isn't working. I can't fight the feeling that after months of living with, talking to and feeding Tank, that this particular meal feels like a date. I'm feeling a little shaky and queasy, like my stomach is full of butterflies; the exact same nervous feelings I always get when I'm crushing on someone. I blame that dreadful girl Bay for putting the idea in my head...

"I beg your pardon?" I ask when I realise Tank said something I didn't quite catch.

"I said I had a conversation with Bay today. I'm kind of proud of myself. I could talk to her in a regular way like I talk to everyone. None of the hurt emotions came up like they used to. I think I'm actually finally over her." Tank remarks happily. He gives me another big smile I couldn't help but respond by smiling back. The fluttery feeling in my stomach is getting worse.

"Good for you, Tank! How is the demon girl?" I ask sweetly.

"She's fine, although I think she is still smarting after that altercation with you a few days ago. It sounds like you really let her have it."

"Well it serves her right, the way she treated you!" I state indignantly.

"Exactly when were you going to tell me about this altercation? "Tank asks. "She said it happened several days ago."

"Didn't I mention it? It was something of nothing. I was rehearsing for the Noel Coward play I'm in and she was one of the volunteers helping paint the set. I admit I might have gotten a bit snarky with her when I realised who it was."

"Snarky? She said you verbally flayed her alive," Tank comments raising an elegant eyebrow.

I start to get nervous. "What else did she say about me?"

"Only that you must be a very good and loyal friend and that you certainly told her a few home truths that she'll never forget. She apologised again to me for treating me so shabbily."

"Well good! Are you okay?"

Tank smiles, "Yeah, I'm okay. I actually think we can become friends. I must have talked to her for twenty minutes, and had a few laughs. I had a good time without yearning for her to come back."

"So she never said anything else about me?" I ask.

"Like what?"

"Oh nothing, I was pretty hard on her." I answer, stuffing pasta in my mouth so I won't have to say anything more. Thinking back on our sudden meeting, I recounted how I really let into Bay. I told her that she was unremarkable in every way accept the fact she was switched at birth and that was an accident. I didn't tell her how much I admired the graphite drawing she did of Tank with the little x's and 0's (he looked so hot in it). I wanted her to know how disdainful I was of her.

She sat there by the wall she was painting with a stunned expression on her face as I vented my feelings. I told her how wonderful Tank was and how kind and considerate he was of other people's feelings. I informed her that she would never find a man as funny, generous, and loyal as him. I also said it was fortunate they split up because it was that he was far too good for her and he deserved a lot better than her. She studied me for a moment and then said, "If he is such a good boyfriend then why don't you go out with him. You obviously want to."

"I would go out with him in a heart-beat if he wasn't straight!" I yelled back at her. I think I shocked her and myself with the forcefulness of my feelings. I stood there like an idiot as I realised what I had just admitted.

She gave me a small, sad little smile. "You're in love with him. I wish you two could get together somehow. You're right; Tank deserves someone to love him as fiercely as you do." I left her to her work, not knowing what I was going to do about my newly realised feelings towards Tank. I decided to do the only thing I can do and keep and them under wraps. I don't want to spoil the wonderful friendship we have. I was glad she didn't tell Tank about my crush on him. That would be awkward. I finish my mouthful of pasta and decide to change the subject.

"You were saying practise was hard?" I quiz.

"Yeah, it was intense." Tank says looking sadly down at his plate.

I don't think, I just reach across to touch his arm. The fluttering in my stomach blossoms again and I pull my arm away quickly. "What is it? What's wrong?" I ask, my heart melting, just looking at his sad face.

"It's the usual; it's the guys at practise. They're still not speaking to me. I mean, on the field they still play with me, talk with me and give me passes because it's the game and we're a team. But as soon as we're off the field I might as well be dead to them. "Tank admits sadly.

"I know you told me the frat guys aren't allowed to speak to you. But not everyone on your team is a former fraternity brother. Can't you talk to the other guys?"

"Nah, they don't want to make waves with my former frat brothers so no one speaks to me when we're off the field. That's why I come home to shower after practises and games. It's too hard to be completely shunned by the guys. They're all slapping and congratulating each other and you know, just generally horsing around and I can't be a part of that, so I come home."

"I had no idea it was that bad Tank. I am so sorry!" I swallow down my emotion. It seemed so unfair.

Tank sighs, "I still really miss my fraternity and the brothers. Sometimes I wish I never de-pledged." He quickly looks at me. "Don't get me wrong! I love our apartment and living with you and Kelly. I enjoy our Saturday nights, watching movies and Friday Game Night with the girls. I am thrilled they made me an honorary lesbian. It's just that, I miss the comradely, the sense of belonging and the total off the wall idiot stunts that the guys used to do. We're all kind of serious and grown up most of the time in this place."

"Well I can do a few prat-falls occasionally; maybe super glue your bed sheets together or something." I tease.

"Would you? Perhaps we can offer Kelly a can of nuts with one of those spring worms inside." Tank jokes back.

I laugh, "I can just see her taking that prank really well."

Tank stands up to take his plate and mine to the sink to be washed. I grab the glasses and follow him. He fills up the sink with hot soapy water while I stand beside him with a towel waiting for the wet rinsed dishes.

"Now if you were at the frat house, you'd be missing all this domestic bliss." I joke and then snap the towel corner right on his ass.

He yelps and grabs his bum. He looks at me incredulously and then gives me an evil grin. "Hey Hummel maybe you'd like some dish soap suds in your hair!" he declares, wielding the dishwashing sponge rather menacingly.

"Don't you dare Tank!" I shout, trying not to giggle.

He grabs me and presses me against the sink trying to squeeze the sponge on my head. I push back holding his hands away from my head and towards his own head. We laugh, giggle and struggle to get the upper hand for a few minutes until I realise how our bodies were pressing together and how close our heads are. I can just reach an inch forward and capture his lips. I stop struggling and just gaze into his laughing, hazel eyes. He stops too and gazes back at me, his expression softening. I hold my breath; is he actually going to kiss me? Tank steps back from me and shrugs his shoulders, "We should probably get back to washing dishes, you know behave like adults?" he remarks and goes back to washing dishes.

"Of course." I agree, wondering if I just imagined the look of desire in his eyes, just a few moments ago.

We quickly finish washing and drying dishes in silence.

"Um, what movie do you want to see tonight?" I ask while I fidget. This growing attraction to my roommate is making me jumpy and unsure of myself.

"Do you mind if we don't watch a film tonight? I'm in a weird mood and I don't think I can concentrate."

"Oh," I say disappointed, it sounds like he wants to be alone. "Okay, I guess I could go to my room and do homework."

"Please don't. I have a couple of beers in the fridge. Do you want one? We could maybe just hang out on the couch and just talk?"

"Sure," I say trying to act nonchalant, even though my heart begins to race.

When we settle on the couch together I am curious, "this weird mood you're in wouldn't happen to be because of you talk with Bay would it?"

"Maybe," Tank sighs and scratches his head. "The thing is, I really liked Bay. I had such a crush on her. The more I saw of her, the more I wanted her. Today I was able to talk to her and not be sexually attracted her which was great." He looks at me briefly then stares down at his shoes. "But the hurt is still there; the hurt of her not being into me, like I was into her. I just feel like some big goof that will never be attractive to anyone."

"I think you are too hard on yourself. You are attractive. You must have been attractive to her or she wouldn't have dated you." I respond.

"We never had sex. I kept telling myself she wasn't ready, but I was just kidding myself. The truth is that she didn't want to have sex with me. I didn't turn her on, at all."

"Alright, maybe you just weren't her type. I'm sure there are plenty of girls out there that think you are their type." I reason. "You just have to back on the saddle. Soon you will have all kinds of girls after you. Look how you charmed the lesbians."

"I'm tired of being charming and nice, bending over backwards to get girls. I want to be hot and sexy and have someone to pursue me for a change. I want someone that really wants me." Tank states emphatically.

This conversation is getting dangerous; I wonder what he wants from me. I start to worry that Bay really had said something to him my feelings.

"Tank, you sound like those straight boys I told you about that flirt with gay guys and ask them if they are attractive to get validation and their egos stroked." I smile, "If that's what you want then fine, I think you're very sexy."

"You're not validating me Kurt. You're patronizing me!" Tank says gruffly.

"I am not patronizing you!" I exclaim. "But you're putting me in a very awkward position. You know I'm gay. I want to stay friends. I don't want any weirdness to affect our friendship."

"What? The weirdness being you'd have to admit the truth that I'm not very attractive? You don't have to worry; I'll stay your friend. I'm used to it. I'll never be sexy to women or gay men." Tank states.

"There are girls out there that will find you sexy, you just haven't met them. As for gay men, what do you know what gay men want?" I argue.

Tank sighs. "I haven't told anybody this ...and please, don't tell anyone else this, but one of the initiations I had to go through during my first week of frat hazing, was that I had to stand at the corner of Charles and Wentworth street and wait there for further instructions."

"Wait a minute, Charles and Wentworth? That's where that notorious gay bar is."

"Exactly. I stood outside there, nodding hello at the men going in and out for ten minutes before realising they were all gay."

"Oh Tank!" I have to giggle at the thought.

"I wasn't sure what to do. It may have been just a coincidence that the guys picked that corner. So I decided to wait around another hour for a frat brother to show up to give me further instructions. But I was worried; what if some gay dudes hit in me while I was waiting?"

"Typical, a straight guy's worse nightmare." I reply bitterly.

"I'm not like that Kurt. I normally wouldn't care if a gay guy hit on me, not that any ever have. It was just that, if this was some kind of punking, then it was being played on them just as much as on me. If someone approached me I couldn't very well say, 'sorry I'm just waiting for my frat brother to tell me what my initiation is.' I'm sure they'd figure out that they're being used for the purpose of humiliating a straight boy and I didn't want to be a part of it. I thought about it while I was waiting and decided that saying, 'sorry dude I'm not interested' sounded too cold and cruel and 'I'm not interested. I'm straight' sounded too suspicious. Why would a straight guy stand in front of a gay bar, proclaiming he's straight. They would think I some kind of religious protester or some kind of homophobe looking for a fight. After some thought, I came up with, 'No thanks buddy, I'm waiting for someone.' I was very happy with that response because number one; it was the truth - I was waiting for someone and number two; it was vague so I wouldn't have to explain myself."

I smirk and smile at him. Only Tank, the big burly guy would be worried about hurting other peoples' feelings in such a crazy situation. He was such a sweet heart. "So what happened in the end?"

"Well I had my well-rehearsed excuse all ready if anybody approached. And guess what. Nobody did. There I was standing right in front of a gay bar at closing time with loads of guys leaving and other than a few quick glances in my direction, not one guy was interested. They all passed me by. I felt pretty damned dejected. Finally I left, since no fraternity brother showed up. Apparently, the whole initiation was how long would it take me to figure out that I was standing in front of a gay bar. When I got back to the frat house, the guys were all giggling and asked me how long I hung around. I told them it took about ten minutes for me to figure out I was in front of a gay bar and then I left right after and went to another bar. I didn't want to tell them the rest of the sad story. Like I said, not even gay guys find me attractive."

"Tank, there could be dozens of reasons why they didn't approach you. You are a big, strong masculine man. Maybe they knew you were straight right off and any flirtation on their part could be met with a fist in the face. Or another reason might be that a confused straight frat boy standing in front of their bar during the first week of school is most likely an annual tradition; a yearly hazing that they have learned to ignore."

"And it could be that I am unattractive." Tank insists.

"For the last time you not unattractive! I think you're very handsome! You have got one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen. I constantly gaze at your chest, shapely arms and hands. If I was at that bar, not only would I have flirted with you, I would have jumped your sexy hot bones!" I suddenly gasp. I didn't mean for all my feelings about him to come out. How would he react to my obvious crush?

Instead of running out the door immediately, Tank turns towards me on the couch and eyes me intently.

"Would you really? Do you really like me like that?"

There was something in the way he said it… "Bay, told you how I feel about you, didn't she?"

"You told Bay you have feelings for me?" Dave asks incredulously.

I clap my hand to my mouth. "Oh God! She didn't tell you."

"Kurt! It's okay. It's more than okay. I wanna kiss you!"

"You don't want to kiss me! You're just feeling sorry for me." I shout red faced and flustered, wishing the ground would swallow me up.

"I'm not Kurt. I'm serious! I almost kissed you earlier when we were goofing around at the sink but I thought you would be creeped out by me," Tank answers still looking intently at me.

"You're straight." I remind him.

"Am I? All I know is that for the last few weeks, I have had to push back feelings for you that I don't want to stop anymore; especially if you are feeling the same towards me."

"That - that can't be." I stammer, stunned by what he is telling me.

"It's true Kurt. It started the first time you walked into the kitchen in the morning in just your shorts with no top. You surprised me how built and defined you were. I couldn't get you out of my head all day. Now if I see you topless I have to get out of the room or avert my eyes. I didn't want to be caught aroused, if you know what I mean."

"Really?" I ask surprised.

"Really. So I would really like to kiss you now." Tank says moving closer to me.

"No! It's not fair to suggest that. You can't play with me like this! I'm not an experiment to see how sexually fluid you are. I won't be used to boost up your confidence and make you feel attractive." I tell him.

"This is not an experiment. It's true that I haven't felt an attraction to a man until now, but that doesn't mean I won't take a relationship with you any less serious that I would if I was dating a woman. I play for keeps; I take romance seriously. I won't hurt you."

"Do you really mean that? What about the guys on your team? I will not have a closeted relationship. You will have to acknowledge me publically as your boyfriend. And they will have certainly something to say about you suddenly dating a guy."

"Well at least they'll talk to me again." Tank smirks.

"This is no joke Tank. I know if I kiss you, it will progress to other things. I already half in love with you; if we start something I will fall…

Tank just grabs me and kisses me in midsentence. He pulls me into his arms and presses his warm lips against mine. All my fears and arguments die then and there. I throw my arms around his neck and open my mouth to let him in.

He passionately explores my mouth with his tongue and I do the same. The passion quickly ratchets up. I haven't had sex in a while and I quickly become painfully hard. I move onto his lap and am happy to see he is very hard himself. Tank moans in a wonderfully sexy way, as I impatiently press our erections together.

"I want to see you!" Tank breathes and starts to pull at my t-shirt. I help him tug it over my head and I quickly start unbuttoning his shirt. We quickly scrabble out of our clothes and eye each other. He looks good, so masculine and strong with a chest with the perfect amount of hair. I immediately reach for his chest to feel it. He pulls me in and nuzzles my neck at the same time rubs his erect penis against mine.

"Do you have condoms?" I ask breathlessly.

"No damn it!" Tank answers. "Do you?"

"Haven't needed them." I gasp as he pushes against me again. "Let's just jerk each other off."

Tank kisses me and grabs our dicks together in his big hand and starts moving up and down.

It feels great but dry and I worry we might get sore. Tank obviously has the same thought because he stops momentarily and spits into his hand and then starts again. The saliva acts as lubrication and suddenly his movements feel phenomenal. I can't help moan my pleasure into his mouth as we passionately kiss. It doesn't take long at all before we both come.

Luckily there are tissues on the coffee table and we are able to wipe ourselves before any come gets on the furniture or floor. Tank and I collapse onto the couch feeling very satisfied and happy. At least that's how I feel. I take a glance at Tank hoping that he doesn't look like it is some kind of mistake. He gives me a big smile and kiss.

"Kurt, that was amazing! I can't wait until I can do more with you!"

"You're not grossed out or have changed your mind?" I ask fearfully.

"No way! If anything, I am even more positive that this is what I want; that you are the person I want to be with." He says smiling.

"Can I call you Miles?" I ask suddenly. "I love that name and I've never cared for your nick name Tank. I don't think it describes you at all."

"I would love that Kurt. It does sound so much more intimate and more like family. I'm growing tired of the name Tank too." Miles replies looking at me lovingly. He moves in for another kiss.

Suddenly, we hear the door opening. We only manage to drag the throw across our exposed laps before Kelly walks through the door.

Kelly eyes us for a minute and pulls a face. "I'd better not find a single drop of jizz anywhere on my couch.

"You won't; we were careful." Miles says awkwardly, reaching to grab his pants while keeping both of us covered.

"New house rule. No fucking on my couch. Stick to either of your bedrooms."

"It just happened. It wasn't planned!" I sputter.

Kelly reaches into her purse and checks her phone and smiles. "I knew it! I have the closest date. I won the pool!"

I was horrified. "You lesbians had a betting pool of when we would get together?"

Kelly nods and smiles. "Yep and I won! I'm just letting the girls know."

"How did you know when neither of us knew?" Miles asks.

Kelly just laughs, I've been watching you two surreptitiously checking each other out for weeks now. We lesbians gossip about it the time when you guys are out of ear shot. I'll tell you something else you probably don't know. I bought condoms and lube the other day and stuck them under the bathroom sink. SYou can thank me later!" She turns and walks down the hall to her bedroom giggling all the way.

Miles turns to me and said with a great big smile on his face, "Well Hummel? Your place or mine?"

I smile back. "You pick Miles."

He laughs and picks me off the couch and carries me off to his room, not even caring that we've left our clothes behind.

"The condoms! Don't forget the condoms!" I shout laughing. Miles drops me on his bed and runs out to the bathroom. I get a great view of his retreating bum. I hardly manage to get the covers rolled back before my sweetheart Miles comes back with his loot and leaps on the bed and on me. I laugh and try to squirm out from under him but he pins me down and starts kissing me passionately. Even though I had just climaxed a little while ago, having Miles on top of me is driving me wild.

"Miles we have lots of time for foreplay later. I want you so much. I want you inside me now."

I'm glad to see that Miles looks thrilled." I want to be inside you right now too," he replies happily.

Miles quickly rips open a condom a package, puts it on his huge erection and lubes himself up. Any slight worry that still lingered about him not wanting me has gone.

"I'm more than ready." I reply as he maneuvers between my legs and faces me.

I smile again up at him, feeling happier than I have felt in a long time. And from the loving look I receive back from him, I know my happiness will last. I doubt either of us will ever be sad over past relationships again.

I know it might too soon but I have to say it. "Miles I have definitely fallen in love with you."

Miles smiles with his eyes sparkling and says "me too," as he parts my cheeks and pushes home.


End file.
